2026-03-08
Power Systems Research (PSR) is an international research company based in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. It operates a second North America office in Detroit, Mich., and has offices in five other countries. PSR analysts have been collecting and analyzing global engine and powertrain data and information since 1976, and we use this data to develop targeted forecasts by industry segment and region.
Our team of experienced analysts works with OEMs, engine and component manufacturers, dealers, fleet managers and industry experts to compile detailed and focused data that has become an industry standard. It’s the leading source of global information on engines and power equipment powered by IC and alternate sources. Whether you need detailed global data, forecasts or customized local market studies, we can provide you with Data, Forecasting and Solutions. Let’s start today.
PSR Adds Team Members
Power Systems Research has added two members to its team of analysts and account executives. Jack Prince, joins as a Business Development Manager in Ann Arbor, MI, and Jansmin Reichert comes aboard as a Junior European Market Research Analyst in our Brussels office.
Jack Prince brings more than 25 years of business development and commercialization experience to the global automotive and mobility industries. He uses research and data to help clients identify market opportunities and improve business efficiency while enhancing product performance.
Jack has advised emerging ventures on market discovery, product strategy, and investor engagement. His experience includes supporting global ventures in electromechanical systems, radar and sensor technologies, structural plastics, SaaS platforms, and vehicle access solutions. Jack holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and is currently completing an Executive MBA at Michigan State University.
Jasmin Reichert is our Junior European Market Research Analyst operating out the Brussels office. She will be responsible for developing European market research and production data analysis for original equipment and engine applications for Power Systems Research’s OE Link™ and EnginLink™ databases.
Jasmin specializes in public affairs and digital policy, and she has experience in EU tech regulation and strategic research. Prior to joining Power Systems Research, Jasmin worked in European parliamentary research, and on technology policy and on technology in the economy. She graduated from Passau University in Bavaria, with a degree in European Studies. She also holds a Master’s degree in European and East Asian Governance. Jasmin joined Power Systems Research Feb. 1, 2026. PSR
2026-02-24
Q4 2025 Truck Production Climbs 3.7%
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The Power Systems Research Truck Production Index (PSR-TPI) increased from 107 to 111, or 3.7%, for the three-month period ended Dec. 31, 2025, from Q3 2025. The year over-year (Q4 2024 to Q4 2025) loss for the PSR-TPI was, 113 to 111, or -1.8%.
The PSR-TPI measures truck production globally and across six regions: North America, China, Europe, South America, Japan & Korea and Emerging Markets. This data comes from OE Link,™, the proprietary database maintained by Power Systems Research.
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Alternative Power Report, February 2026
In the February 2026 issue of the Alternative Power Report produced by Power Systems Research and authored by Guy Youngs, you’ll find articles on Tesla committing suicide by shifting away from auto productions, Germany’s new stance on hydrogen, new 4X power sodium-ion batteries, Europe’s hydrogen bus experiment, and Mercedes introducing a new solution to cut pollution. Read these articles and more in the February Alternative Power Report today. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast and Technology Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research
2026-02-22
North America Tractor Production
80,800 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Ag Tractors expected to be produced in North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico) during 2026.
This product information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.
2-Wheel Drive Tractors are farm tractors that have a drive train that allows two wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously. Normally, the rear axle is powered by the engine.
4WD Articulated Ag Tractors are farm tractors built with an articulated chassis very similar to the design used for articulated wheel loaders. Each element of the articulated chassis has a rigid drive axle, and the front and rear elements are connected by a pivoting/ articulating joint. This design uses rigid (i.e. non-steering) drive axles and is typically used for large, high-HP tractors.
MFWD Tractors (Mechanical Front Wheel Drive) are farm tractors which feature a rigid chassis with steerable front-drive axles. This designation applies to both full-time 4WD and front-assist-drive configuration tractors across a broad HP range. Both configurations are produced in significantly greater volume than the 4WD Articulated type tractors.
Tracked Ag Tractors are steerable multitrack tractors with powered rubber tracks instead of wheels to move the vehicle. The crawler-type tracks are flexible and reinforced with steel. They are usually powered by hydrostatic or completely hydraulic driving mechanisms. They can be articulated or nonarticulated.
Trends. In 2025, production of Ag Tractors in North America decreased 6.2%. Production is expected to drop by nearly 6% in 2026.
Prior declines in 2020 were attributed to COVID-19 related issues which included unusually high orders for materials and parts. Inventory levels are at the lowest level in decades and have left the supply chain a mess, according to leading tractor manufacturers and AEM.
Production of machinery and components needed to build equipment has been halted. This negatively affected demand for farm machinery and contributed to overall lower sales and profits for agricultural equipment operations.
New tractors have become very expensive and have weakened demand. Reduced demand also has been linked to lower commodity prices.
The peak of Ag Tractor production was in 2013. Expect production to remain flat with a potential 10% decline by 2035. PSR
Carol Turner is Senior Analyst, Global Operations, for Power Systems Research
Tesla Committing Automotive Suicide
Following its Q4 2025 financial update, Tesla appears to be pivotally shifting away from its identity as a traditional automaker. By phasing out the Model S and X to focus on ‘Transportation as a Service,’ leadership is betting heavily on an autonomous-first business model.
And instead of building on that success, expanding into new segments, addressing affordability, and competing with the flood of new EVs from legacy automakers and Chinese competitors, the company that revolutionized the auto industry is walking away from it.
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Audit Court Calls Time on Hydrogen Inevitability
“The October 2025 special report from Germany’s Federal Audit Court, Implementation of the Federal Government’s Hydrogen Strategy, lands with unusual weight because it is not a policy critique or an academic intervention, but a statutory budgetary assessment delivered to Parliament,” reports Clean Technica.
It evaluates the hydrogen strategy against the legal requirements of the Energy Industry Act, namely security of supply, affordability, environmental sustainability, climate neutrality, and fiscal prudence, according to the article.
“Its conclusion,” notes the Clean Technica article, “is that the hydrogen strategy is not meeting these tests, despite US$ 5.1 billion (€4.3 billion) allocated in 2024, more than US$ 3.56 billion (€3 billion) in 2025, and multi-billion-euro commitments extending through the end of the decade.”
Source: Clean Technica Read The Article
PSR Analysis: The audit report also refers to the current plan as implausible rather than ambitious and this makes one question how countries can invest tens of billions into infrastructure of an effectively unproven technology ecosystem, at least at this scale. One might think funding a decent but “very small scale trial” might be more prudent. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research
Researchers Improve Sodium-Ion Batteries Almost 4X
The sodium-ion battery formula has some advantages over conventional lithium-ion batteries, including the use of non-flammable, abundant materials and the potential for cutting costs.
One of the areas for improvement is the anode materials. The graphite used in lithium-ion batteries is not a candidate because it can’t store sodium. The consensus alternative has been hard carbon, a form of carbon that doesn’t devolve into graphite under high heat. However, hard carbon can inhibit capacity during the anode formation stage, when the battery is being manufactured
A team of researchers at BAM (the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing) in Germany, noted that the loss of capacity during the manufacturing process is the result of a chemical reaction between the electrolyte and the anode. The BAM solution involves a customized form of activated carbon, applied over a core of sponge-like hard carbon in a thin layer. “Activated carbon is commonly used as a filter, and that’s what it does here, allowing sodium ions to reach the hard carbon core while keeping the electrolyte out,” reports Clean Technica.
Source: Clean Technica Read The Article
PSR Analysis: Sodium-ion batteries have been lingering around the fringes of the vehicle electrification movement for years. A breakthrough moment may have finally arrived as the hurdles to commercial application have fallen. If indeed this activated-carbon trick holds up in large-scale production, it might become the biggest news in battery tech in recent years. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research
Hidden Cost of Europe’s Hydrogen Bus Experiment
This Clean Technica article notes, “Arthur Bus’s collapse in Poland marks the end of a story that had been quietly unraveling for some time. A hydrogen bus startup backed by public funding, municipal orders, and a planned manufacturing footprint failed before delivering a single customer vehicle.
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Tesla Semi Lines Up for $165M in California Incentives
The update was initially reported by The Los Angeles Times.
Tesla reportedly is positioned to receive roughly $165 million in California clean-truck incentives for its Semi.
As per the Times, the Tesla Semi’s funding will come from California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Incentive Project (HVIP), which was designed to accelerate the adoption of cleaner medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Since its launch in 2009, the HVIP has distributed more than $1.6 billion to support zero-emission trucks and buses across the state.
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